CT-optimal touch modulates alcohol-cue-elicited heart rate variability in alcohol use disorder patients during early abstinence: A randomized controlled study

IF 2.5 4区医学 Q3 PHARMACOLOGY & PHARMACY

Alcohol Pub Date : 2024-11-27 DOI:10.1016/j.alcohol.2024.11.004

Juliana Harkki , Pauli Tuovinen , Veikko Jousmäki , Goncalo Barreto , Pekka Rapeli , Jussi Palomäki , Jonne Annevirta , Anna–Helena Puisto , Francis McGlone , Heikki Nieminen , Hannu Alho

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD) is a chronic brain disorder associated with a high risk of relapse and a limited treatment efficacy. Relapses may occur even after long periods of abstinence and are often triggered by stress or cue induced alcohol craving. C-tactile afferents (CT) are cutaneous nerve fibers postulated to encode pleasant affective touch and known to modulate physiological stress responses. However, their translational potential has not yet been explored extensively in controlled clinical trials. This randomized controlled study aimed to investigate the potential of CT stimulation in modulating relapse predicting biomarkers, physiological cue-reactivity, and subjective alcohol craving in AUD patients in early abstinence.

Twenty-one participants meeting DSM-5 criteria for mild to moderate AUD received CT-optimal touch or a non-CT-optimal control treatment while exposed to neutral, stress-inducing, and alcohol-related visual stimuli. The tactile treatment was provided with a robotic device, eliminating the social elements of touch. Heart rate variability (HRV), salivary cortisol, and subjective craving were assessed at the baseline, during and after the treatment and stimuli exposure.

The results showed that CT-optimal touch significantly reduced alcohol-cue-elicited standard deviation of normal-to-normal intervals (SDNN) HRV compared to the control group, shifting the HRV reactivity to the direction known to indicate lower relapse susceptibility. Cortisol levels showed no significant differences between the groups, and subjective alcohol craving increased after alcohol cue exposure in both groups.

This study found that CT-optimal touch modulates autonomic cue-reactivity in AUD patients, encouraging further research on the therapeutic potential of affective touch. Future research should explore the long-term effects and real-world clinical relevance of CT-optimal touch in alcohol relapse prevention.

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ct优化触摸调节酒精使用障碍患者早期戒酒期间酒精提示引起的心率变异性：一项随机对照研究。

酒精使用障碍（AUD）是一种慢性脑部疾病，复发风险高，治疗效果有限。即使在长时间的戒酒后，也可能会复发，这通常是由压力或提示引起的酒精渴望引起的。触觉传入神经（CT）是一种皮肤神经纤维，被认为可以编码愉悦的情感触觉，并调节生理应激反应。然而，它们的转化潜力尚未在对照临床试验中得到广泛的探索。这项随机对照研究旨在探讨CT刺激对早期戒酒AUD患者复发预测生物标志物、生理线索反应性和主观酒精渴望的调节潜力。21名符合DSM-5轻度至中度AUD标准的参与者接受ct最佳触摸或非ct最佳对照治疗，同时暴露于中性、应激诱导和酒精相关的视觉刺激。触觉治疗是由机器人装置提供的，消除了触觉的社交因素。心率变异性（HRV）、唾液皮质醇和主观渴望在基线、治疗和刺激暴露期间和之后进行评估。结果显示，与对照组相比，ct优化触摸显着降低了酒精提示引起的正常到正常间隔（SDNN） HRV的标准偏差，将HRV反应性转移到已知的方向，表明复发易感性较低。皮质醇水平在两组之间没有显着差异，两组的主观酒精渴望在酒精提示暴露后都有所增加。本研究发现，ct优化触摸调节AUD患者的自主神经线索反应，鼓励进一步研究情感触摸的治疗潜力。未来的研究应该探索ct最佳触摸在酒精复发预防中的长期效果和现实世界的临床相关性。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Alcohol 医学-毒理学

CiteScore

4.60

自引率

4.30%

发文量

审稿时长

15.6 weeks

期刊介绍： Alcohol is an international, peer-reviewed journal that is devoted to publishing multi-disciplinary biomedical research on all aspects of the actions or effects of alcohol on the nervous system or on other organ systems. Emphasis is given to studies into the causes and consequences of alcohol abuse and alcoholism, and biomedical aspects of diagnosis, etiology, treatment or prevention of alcohol-related health effects. Intended for both research scientists and practicing clinicians, the journal publishes original research on the neurobiological, neurobehavioral, and pathophysiological processes associated with alcohol drinking, alcohol abuse, alcohol-seeking behavior, tolerance, dependence, withdrawal, protracted abstinence, and relapse. In addition, the journal reports studies on the effects alcohol on brain mechanisms of neuroplasticity over the life span, biological factors associated with adolescent alcohol abuse, pharmacotherapeutic strategies in the treatment of alcoholism, biological and biochemical markers of alcohol abuse and alcoholism, pathological effects of uncontrolled drinking, biomedical and molecular factors in the effects on liver, immune system, and other organ systems, and biomedical aspects of fetal alcohol spectrum disorder including mechanisms of damage, diagnosis and early detection, treatment, and prevention. Articles are published from all levels of biomedical inquiry, including the following: molecular and cellular studies of alcohol''s actions in vitro and in vivo; animal model studies of genetic, pharmacological, behavioral, developmental or pathophysiological aspects of alcohol; human studies of genetic, behavioral, cognitive, neuroimaging, or pathological aspects of alcohol drinking; clinical studies of diagnosis (including dual diagnosis), treatment, prevention, and epidemiology. The journal will publish 9 issues per year; the accepted abbreviation for Alcohol for bibliographic citation is Alcohol.